Seeing Things Clearly Now
by emmaplodocus
Summary: This is for all of the stories out there detailing the warblers seeing videos of Kurt's bullying. This is New Directions and Blaine. "You said you had the crap beaten out of you…you didn't say you were brutalised!" Angst meme prompt response.


Warnings for violence and swearing.

This is in response to a prompt on the glee angst meme.

The prompt is here, just delete the brackets. It was a brilliant prompt, I jumped at the chance to follow it.

Htt(p):/(/)glee-angst-meme(.)live journal(.)com(/)(?thread)=13352063t13352063

(Sorry about the ending.)

xxxxx

Kurt walked into the choir room to see everyone huddled around Quinn's laptop.

"Hey guys what are you all looking at? I swear Finn if it's yet another video of some football player getting kicked in the privates I am not interested."

"Man those are the best!" Puck high-fived Finn and Kurt settled himself at the back next to Mercedes so he too could see the screen.

Tina supplied, "We're internet stalking your boyfriend."

"Oh god. Why may I ask?"

"We were discussing his talent and vocal range. It's most unfortunate we haven't had time with him the last two years, I merely wanted to catch up on what he can do so as to better direct Blaine to areas he is best at and therefore best for us all competition wise."

"Er where am I being directed?"

"Somewhere near Kurt I'll bet." Artie snickered.

"Hot!" Santana called.

Finned groaned. "Guys that's my brother!"

Blaine dumped his bag down under his chair next to Kurt.

"They're all internet stalking you by the way."

"Hey what's this one?"

Blaine looked extremely unconcerned and didn't even spare the screen a glace. "Could be anything. Wes went through a stage of being very attached to his video camera." He squeezed Kurt's hand. "I'm just going to nip to my locker and sort out the books I need to take home, I won't be long."

Puck laughed. "We already found he one of you falling of a table in rehearsal."

Blaine blushed slightly. "Hey! That hurt."

Finn snorted. "Yeah it looked like it."

"How many have you watched?"

"So far about eight." Tina supplied.

"Great. See you all in a minute, I'd like to see you all looking at funny animal videos like normal people when I get back." That sent Quinn, Santana and Brittany into a full blown discussion of some video about a barking cat and Kurt leaned in so he could see the screen better - if anyone had a right to invade Blaine's privacy by internet stalking him, it was him, plus Blaine didn't exactly seemed concerned.

"You have excellent taste in music." Brittany shouted after him.

"She's the only one that thinks so!" Quinn shot back.

"Go back to the search results and look at that blog site that had his name on it might be a warblers site."

"Good idea. We've got the idea by now, anything top 40 is his." Kurt snorted with laughter.

"Yeah he does like Katy Perry."

Checking his phone and sending a quick text his dad he was brought back to attention by the lowered and worried voices of Puck and Finn.

"Oh shit."

"Is that him? That is him isn't it?"

"Guys what's wrong?"

Finn shuffled uncomfortably. "Kurt I don't think you should see this…"

"If its about my boyfriend I don't care what you think."

"What's wrong?" Mike questioned.

"Okay but I don't think the girls should see."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Shut it Puck and show us."

The video started to play and Kurt was about to open his mouth to ask just what the hell it was when everything became abruptly clear. The footage was dark, they were outside and it was evening, it was crudely shot, probably on a mobile phone, and half the members of New Directions let out gasps of shock or physically winced when the footage showed someone being thrown to the ground.

It was Blaine.

"Oh my god." Kurt's stomach lurched and he followed the feeling forward and forced himself in front of the screen.

_Two pairs of legs appeared in front of the screen, one of them collapsed onto the ground after having his legs kicked out from underneath him. Both boys were wearing tuxes and Blaine looked a couple of years younger and as Kurt watched Blaine reach out a hand towards the other boy and saw his fingers being cruelly stood on in response, he realised. This must be the Sadie Hawkins dance. That must have been Paul, Blaine's date. And this was the night that had made Blaine scared to come to Kurt's prom._

"_Stay down there you fag." One of the guys put his foot on Paul's back and shoved him to the floor, someone else was kicking Blaine's stomach and he was just trying to curl up, trying to hide, trying to defend himself. _

There was nothing either boy could do, they were outnumbered and being brutally hurt. None of their attackers were holding back.

"No!" Tina cried out and buried her face into Mike's chest and that acted as affirmation that Kurt really had just seen one of the bullies kick Paul in the face, breaking his nose.

"Jesus Christ, they broke Paul's nose." He hadn't realised he had said it aloud until Quinn, sniffling, asked him how he knew the boys name.

Kurt had never told anyone anything Blaine had told him in confidence, and Blaine was strong, he was ashamed of himself for leaving for Dalton but God, the secret was out now wasn't it? They knew. They'd seen it. Kurt had seen it.

"I think this is after the Sadie Hawkins dance Blaine went too, three guys beat them up afterwards."

In comparison Kurt realised that he had been lucky at prom.

The video ended and no one knew what to say until Kurt put the next video on.

"Kurt, should you really be -"

"Yes Mercedes. I can't not know now I've seen it already."

The next video was in the school.

_Two guys were holding a struggling Blaine up against a locker. There were at least four bullies there this time instead of three that they could see before. _

_Whoever was holding the camera spoke. "For fucks sake I'm sick of this, stop your struggling fag. Here hold this." The video showed the floor for a few seconds until it raised upwards again and the new guy was stood in front of Blaine who looked terrified. He was already crying. _

Kurt brought his knees up to his chest hugging them tightly. He had always thought those people who watched horror movies when they were scared of their own shadow were stupid, but now he understood, because he was terrified and yet he couldn't tear his tear filled eyes away.

_The guy stood in front of Blaine and punched him in the stomach and then he pulled something out of his pocket that froze Blaine in his place. A pocket knife._

"Brittany don't watch." Santana pulled her towards her knowing it would upset her too much. Kurt heard Mercedes' intake of breath beside him and he heard all of the guys swearing and threatening but Kurt could also hear the scared little whimper that just came out of his boyfriends throat.

"_Now listen, you're going to stop that pathetic whining and that pathetic begging and you're going to do as we say." Blaine nodded. "You see that janitors closet there Blaine? Well we think that's where you belong, so in you go." _

"_Oh how original."_

_The guys holding him brought him forward and slammed him back into the lockers and the one with the knife walked up to Blaine, pushing his head back by holding his throat and traced the knife along his jaw line, the knife went to his lips and Blaine screwed his eyes shut as it was dragged along his bottom lip. Not hard enough to cut and deeply damage but definitely deep enough for blood to pour out and deep enough to make Blaine walk shakily without further protest into the closet._

"_If you're lucky we'll let you out before the end of the day." _

_Even through the door and through the poor sound quality Blaine could be heard crying._

"Fuck them. Fuck those bastards." Puck's hands were shaking, all the guys look furious and there wasn't a single girl who didn't have tears in her eyes. Santana was swearing.

"There's more videos. There's loads of them."

Mercedes stroked Kurt's hand. "You never told us it was that bad. Neither did he."

"I didn't know."

"I can't believe Blaine went through that, he's so brave."

"Tell him that, he thinks he's a coward."

"Kurt, we don't."

"Thanks Artie."

They started the next video, everyone seemed unable to stop watching, they needed to know what had happened to him.

_The camera was pointing right on his face, tear struck and bruised and Blaine was staring at the floor. "Say it. Go on tell the camera what you are. Say the reason why this happens to you." Blaine suddenly groaned in pain, something had obviously just happened to him that was off screen._

_Whatever it was worked and Blaine spoke. _

"_I'm a fag."_

Laughter burst out the speakers cutting harshly into the silence of the room. Kurt wanted to be sick. His heart broke. He wanted to reach forward and touch it to offer some kind of pitiful comfort not only through the screen but through time. It was such a confidence destroying, awful thing to make him do - use that word against himself, at this point, poor terrified Blaine might have even believed it himself.

"What on earth are you guys watching?" Kurt jumped violently, no one had heard Blaine come in. He walked up to Kurt and bent down to hug him but stopped when he caught sight of the screen. "Guys?"

Kurt stood up and flung his arms round Blaine squeezing as hard as he could.

"Oh Blaine. You said the bullies really pissed you off, you said you and Paul had the crap beaten out of you…you didn't say you were brutalised!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Those videos, they're online Blaine."

"You watched them?"

"A couple, yes."

"Oh God." He pulled himself away from Kurt and turned to run down the steps where their chairs were but he was panicking and he fell. The entire glee club went to sit around him.

"God Blaine, all the fuss I made about bullying you must think I'm such a baby. I'm so sorry."

"No Kurt never! I would never put down what you've been through!"

"You're comforting me? What is wrong with you? Jesus Christ Blaine I never would have taken you to prom if I'd have known about this!"

"I'm glad we went to prom!"

Kurt had Blaine wrapped tightly in his arms. "You should have told me."

"Which ones did you see?"

No one wanted to answer that. Everyone sat uneasy and sad, unwilling to admit to the humiliation they had just watched because they knew it would only add to it.

"I have to see."

"Oh Blaine, no. That's not a good idea."

Blaine had already scrambled across the room and grabbed the laptop, his hands were shaking as he navigated the site, seeing lists of links to videos of him being tortured.

"Oh God they're all there. Oh God." Kurt gently pried his hands away from the computer, placing it on a chair and snapping the screen down.

"Blaine you reported this right? Please tell me they didn't get away with it."

Kurt blinked back tears of his own from watching Blaine roughly press the palms of his hands into his eyes. He pulled them away only to start tearing at his hair instead and Kurt had to grab his hands, wincing when he felt how they were shaking.

"I er, I actually didn't know they'd put them online. It does explain a lot though." He muttered looking sick. "They'd beat me up and…do things and I saw them recording it but I just assumed they sent the videos out to people and showed them to each other…I never knew they'd put them up…there'll be so many…I can think of so many times they filmed things."

"Blaine…" Kurt stopped short. He wanted nothing more than to comfort his boyfriend but he had no idea how, Blaine had been safe for years and now everything had been brought back up again so cruelly.

Suddenly Blaine shot away from Kurt and lurched. Everyone stared in shock realising he was going to be sick but mike grabbed the trash can just in time and paced it in front of him.

"Great as if today wasn't humiliating enough."

"Here Blaine, have my water."

"Thanks Rachel."

Finn was looking nervous, like he wanted to speak but didn't want to say anything that would make things worse, Kurt offered him a nod of encouragement and Finn took a visible deep breath and spoke.

"Blaine…none of us had any idea things were that bad. What they did to you was awful. Nothing like that will happen to you here."

"Yeah," Puck said, "We've got your back. You're our friend, Kurt's boyfriend and a part of Glee - we won't let anyone hurt you again."

"We can report the website," Artie suggested, "show it to your old school and the police, they'll have to do something - you could probably sue them."

All of the girls hugged Blaine and he just cried harder.

"You're all being so nice. I don't know why, you saw how weak I am. This one time they wrote 'FAG' right across my forehead. They broke my wrist once too. I never did anything back."

Kurt was fully crying now. "Blaine there was nothing you could have done back! They could have killed you! You got out and that is what's most important."

Brittany stroked his hair, "You're Kurt's dolphin and I want you to be happy. No one will hurt you here, Santana will protect you."

"Damn straight I will!"

"Blaine if you want I volunteer my dads, they will happily listen to you, it might help."

"You guys are all so nice."

Tina held his free hand and Mercedes spoke, "Blaine you're strong and now you can move on from that and enjoy being here."

Kurt had never felt so grateful for his friends as he did right now. He watched Blaine actually manage a little smile as he wiped some tears away.

Mr Schuester walked in surprised to see the entire glee club huddled around on the floor. "Blaine are you sick? What's wrong?" Quinn got up and quietly explained everything. "How about we leave glee for today and you all come over to mine and we order pizza?"

Kurt smiled. "Brilliant idea."

"Is that okay Blaine?"

"I think I just want too be alone right now."

Kurt wasn't having that. "No Blaine. It's horrible we've all seen that but we're your friends and we're here for you I think you need to see that."

"Blaine I'll arrange a meeting with your parents and discuss where this goes okay? I think the police should be involved, but for tonight you are going to see why being a part of the Glee club is such a brilliant thing.

Kurt pulled Blaine to his feet and everyone wrapped him in a hug. Kurt couldn't get the horrible images of Blaine being tormented out of his head, but he felt, in a horrible way, almost better for knowing, because he was going to do for Blaine everything he had done for him, he was going to make him feel better, feel safe and loved. Luckily, he had several others that were going to help with that. So the guys tried to engage Blaine in video games and banter and the girls were loving and kind as they ate pizza at Mr Schue's and Kurt was determined for Blaine to realise just how brave he was.


End file.
